USHPA Membership Services To me Today at 9:35 AM Attached is your new digital USHPA member card, reflecting your most recent membership information. the digital member card includes not only your primary ratings but also your special skills and appointments.

Well, I could do without the para wing on my card.

not only your primary ratings

And why list ratings/appointments that I don't even have. As in, Basic Inst.

NO TANDEM??

1. Have some PG/HG basic Inst. been doing tandems illegally? 2. Is this supposed to make me want to get the tandem? 3. Has Groupon joy riders spurred a surge in TAND rating?

Also,

NO RATINGS PARAGLIDING

Is having this on my membership card supposed to make me feel bad?............................................................................................

It would be great to have a Hang Gliding member Assn card with only a HG pictured on it.

HGs top whining. Next year you all may have to wear a yellow patch.You fly too fast and are a danger to slower pilots. The solution is to ban you from flying our sites on some days, like they do at Torrey.The final solution will be to ban you altogether.

I got mine in early December, but I didn't look at it because I've been unable to fly my local site (Torrey Pines) since November 9th.

USHPA is aware of the situation, but hasn't lifted a finger to help. No surprise there.

However, the US Hawks has been experiencing a surge in growth and activity since that time. If we can keep spreading the word, we might be able to start talking about our own tandem exemption and insurance.

The letter that came with the card says you will only get a new card if you receive new ratings or become an instructor. I would expect so.

Only? That means that for every rating change of every member in u$hPa, they will have to issue a new card. One of these that has your code

Where is the demand for this? Do the number of flying sites, which ones, that need this type of card warrant the change? u$hPa's members only section shows this info, already, and can be accessed by all the members.

Surely no one at HQ would buy a card making machine and push through the change in policy, just to sell, guaranteed, cards forever. If all my info is in that code there is some connection with HQ

Oh, and I talked with Martin P. about getting a HG icon on the local sectional maps. They don't do that any more.

I was a Special Observer. I received the rating from USHGA Prez Steve Hawxhurst years ago. It allowed me to give ratings to pilots in Owens Valley. I read, quite a while back, that the U$hPA had done away with the Special Observer. Probably their $chool$ were whining that we were taking away business - as if local trainees were going to drive five hours to pay to attend a $chool. Just another indication that the corporate model has engulfed hang gliding. Today's hang glider pilots should consider outlaw alternatives such as flying where there is no public presence or building the U.S. Hawks.

I think a lot of us older hang glider pilots remember how we started. We were fascinated by the sport. We drove for hang glider pilots and learned by watching. We traded driving time for instruction. We bought old second hand gliders and learned by doing. We'd break 'em and fix 'em. That's how hang gliding got started and how it grew. Inland, anyway. We only needed a USHGA card when our sites were threatened or we wanted to fly insured sites. I dare say it was affordable, then. Today the fees seem way out of whack. Something has gone terribly wrong.